CONVICTED (2018) | Judy Shaw, born 17/10/1972, of Dorset Close, Brimington, Chesterfield S43 1DW – allowed two of her ponies to become disturbingly underweight and in poor health

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard how Judy Shaw kept ponies Larry and Daisy with five others in a paddock on Sheffield Road, Dronfield, where they were spotted by the public who alerted police.

The police called the RSPCA who visited the paddock and discovered five ponies in a reasonable condition but the state of Larry and Daisy gave cause for concern.

RSPCA Inspector Michael Darling described Larry as looking like a Jersey cow with prominent ribs and he was in a “pitiful” state and was walking in a slow, laboured manner.

The RSPCA contacted an expert veterinary surgeon, Christine Jamieson, and Larry and Daisy were removed for an investigation and treatment because their conditions were described as “very disturbing”.

The court heard Daisy was not in as bad a condition as Larry but she was underweight with her ribs prominent. Ms Jamieson stated Larry was unbelievably emaciated and added that she had not seen a pony as bad as this alive.

She said Larry was crawling with lice and she could see them laying eggs on his body and that Daisy also had a similar problem but not as bad and she too was underweight but not worryingly so .

Shaw had been treating the ponies for the respiratory condition Strangles and she had been feeding them with supplements but this condition can result in horses going off feed.

Shaw had pleaded not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by failing to address the ponies’ condition, denied failing to ensure the needs of the ponies were met with a suitable diet and denied failing to protect them from suffering or disease between June and August, 2017.

However, she was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to both Larry and Daisy by failing to seek veterinary advice, and guilty of failing to protect Larry only by failing to protect him from lice.

Shaw was found not guilty of failing to provide Larry and Daisy with a suitable diet.

Following the hearing, RSPCA inspector Rachel Leafe said: “The horses were in a very bad condition at the time we were called out and the vet who treated them said that, in the case of Larry, they had never seen a horse so thin to survive. He couldn’t stand up he was so weak.

“Since being in RSPCA care they have thrived and are back to full health. As no disqualification order was made by the court, the horses will now go back to Shaw’s care.”

Sentencing:
Shaw, who is dependent on benefits, was fined £500 and was ordered to pay £750 costs and a £30 victim surcharge. The defendant was not banned from keeping animals and no order was made to deprive her of her ponies.

Source: Dewsbury Reporter (article removed)

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Update | May 2021

Shaw was back before the courts facing charges in relation to her shocking neglect of horses and cats. Her partner Peter Hardy was also charged with cruelty. Both were convicted and given a community sentence and 10-year ban on keeping all animals.